Today is day 7 of the Primal Stride Week 2 Challenge. You’ve been crunching on fruits and vegetables and your abs all week.
Are you glad you did it? Have you learned anything about yourself in the past week? Will you keep eating vegetables and doing crunches now that the weeks is over?
My update: Green beans and crunches go well together. =)
And now for the bad news: I won’t have time to coordinate challenges over the next two weeks. What I can do is check in you every so often to make sure you’re doing well. I’ll also continue to update with letters for the 100lbs project. I’ve lost some weight in 2010 and I want to get those break-up letters written! =) So, beyond your normal check-in for the challenge, make sure to let me know if you’re doing anything in the next two weeks you’d like me to check in on you for.
Thank you all for your loving kindness and enthusiastic support! I have a feeling that come February 1st some of you newly-minted early risers will need a check-up challenge. =)
I grew up taking naps each afternoon but “grew out of them” by the time I was 8. I have since reimplemented them as part of a (I hate the word “diet” … what to call it?) concerted weight-loss effort. Resting for 30 minutes, even if I can’t fall asleep, has changed the way I view the middle of my day.
I good nap can make the day seem like I got two chances at making it great. =)
My challenge update:
Crunches: 250 is turning out to be easier than I thought it would be. Magnificent!
Are you able to survive, to thrive, and to flourish through the strength of your friendships with others? Do you have a deep religious fervor that keeps you going? Perhaps you just know, deep within yourself, that you are able to do whatever you wish?
I’d like to know.
My update:
Crunches – My stomach aches. The major muscle groups are worn out so the smaller ones have been working overtime. That’s good. I’m glad of it. I’ll keep going. 250 seems like a lot until I get to 220-30 and realize I could probably keep going. I didn’t feel that way last Thursday. Improvement? Possibly. =)
Vegetables – Cabbage. Raw. With a bit of salt. It was good. =)
P.s. I’m open to ideas for next week’s challenge. Is there something you’d like to try?
I’m sure I’m not the only one with a busy Monday so I’ll keep this short. I’ll give a quick update on my progress and ask you a question that you can answer with your update.
My Update:
Crunches – 250 each day didn’t seem like a lot at first because I split them up. The area-specific workout caught up to me yesterday evening and I had a solid abdominal ache burning strong. It was gone when I woke at 5am today and 150 into today’s 250 I’m still feeling good. I continue to be thrilled at how quickly my body responds and adjusts to new things. Unfortunately, it also responds quickly to unhealthy food and a sedentary lifestyle. That’s what got me here in the first place!
Green Vegetables – Today I tossed some celery into my green smoothie. I’m not sure that celery has much nutritive value beyond fiber. That’s okay though. This week is all about variety!
The Question:
What do you look forward to most when you imagine yourself living a truly healthy lifestyle?
Check in, Striders!
Ps. If you haven’t already seen it, make sure you take a look at Carla’s awesome video on how to do a perfect crunch!
Becoming an early riser isn’t about trading sleep for productivity. It’s about taking back a part of your life by trading tired evening hours for productive and wakeful mornings.
You probably can’t tell your boss that you’ve decided not to work between 9-11am because you need productive time for yourself and personal projects. You’d be laughed at. What you can do is make a habit of waking early and add hours of productivity to your every morning!
Here are just five of the benefits you’ll enjoy as an early riser:
1. Freedom from distractions -
Whether you have a house full of kids or a phone that never stops ringing, the early morning is the best time to escape the distractions of daily life.
2. More time for personal projects -
If you’ve ever wanted to start a blog, save your marriage, write a novel, get more exercise (one of my early-morning heavy-hitters), or paint your kitchen, do it in the morning. You’ll get more done in an hour of early morning productivity than you could ever hope to accomplish in the evening after a long day of distractions.
3. A change in perspective -
Have you ever gone for a swim in very cold water? At first, the temperature is shocking. Then you become accustomed to the coolness and begin to find it refreshing. Getting up early allows you to approach your life with the same technique. Instead of leaping into your day and stroking furiously for the other side, starting early leaves you with enough time to paddle around a bit and enjoy the process of wakefulness.
4. The Sunrise -
I’m entirely with Leo on this point. I’m usually a mile into my morning walk by the time the sun makes it over the horizon. There is no greater primal joy (except holding one’s child for the first time, perhaps) than experiencing the warmth and light of another new day beginning.
5. Starting the day off right -
When you begin your day by acting in a way that says, “I am going to take care of my body, mind and spirit” you set a precedent for the rest of your day.
So how do you become an early riser? Just follow two simple steps:
Read 5 Steps To Falling Asleep Easily and practice the steps each evening at a time that will give you plenty of rest before the start of your day.
Subscribe to Primal Stride so you don’t miss upcoming articles with great tips to help you start your day with a spring in your step! We’ve already done one seven-day challenge with an early-riser component. Stay tuned for the next!
If you’re already an early riser, sound out in the comments with something you enjoy about the early morning! (And no, staying up until 5am doesn’t count… although it is fun.)
When you think of crunches, do thoughts of achievable six-pack abs come to mind? Or do you instead think of the 1980’s and mindless repetitions that never seem to move you closer to your dream stomach?
I’ve asked my incredible Dr. Seuss Rhymster Fitness Homie MizFit to break down how to do a perfect crunch for all of us doing the Double Crunch challenge. (Find her, link to her, follow her, be like her.)
One quote that jumped out at me:
Abs, aesthetically (the look you see in magazines), are made in the kitchen through what you eat and through your cardio — burning off any excess fat.
I’m going to start bringing a yoga mat into the kitchen and do my crunches there. I’d never thought of that! Thanks, Miz!
Seriously though, if your office chair gives you a sore back, a stronger core (mid-section) can help chase away the pain. If you’re constantly running around after your kids, a stronger core will make your day a little easier. The main benefit of crunches (and other core-strengthening exercises) is that they help you get from wake to sleep more easily.
You do not need to be lean in order to enjoy the benefits of a strong core. However, you do need to be lean if you want to have perfect six-pack abs.
If you want perfect six-pack abs, life is a bit more complex for you. You’ll have to deal with your genetic propensity to store fat on your stomach, love for saturated fats, and unwillingness to spend hours exercising each week. Getting perfect six-pack abs, for most of us, is a silly short-term goal because it’s going to be awhile before we’re lean enough to see our abdominal muscles!
What can we do in the meantime? We can focus on building core strength and changing our eating habits from scarfing junk to consuming food the body recognizes as fuel. Those of you participating in this week’s Primal Stride Challenge already know another benefit of core exercises — that ache in your abs serves as a satisfying reminder that you are making a real change for the better!
Thanks to MizFit for showing us how to do a perfect crunch and to YOU for inspiring all of us with your ability to change!
I tossed a leaf of kale into my green smoothie this morning (I have it growing on my patio) to mix things up from the collards yesterday. (I’m doing something separate with green smoothies I’ll tell you about soon. In the meantime, eat your veggies!)
50 more crunches to go and I’m done for the day. Doing crunches inside would have been a nice respite from jogging in the cold… had I stopped jogging in the cold. But I didn’t! Here’s a video I made for you all on the frosty (yet sunny) Mississippi beach:
It’s check-in time, Striders! Don’t forget to visit and encourage those blogging about their challenge experiences. If you’re blogging about your experience, make sure you leave a link in a comment so I can come visit you, too!
It’s a beautifully crisp January day here in Mississippi. By crisp, I mean 19F under a bright sun that belies the windy barbs swaying trees outside my window. My stomach feels tight from yesterday’s crunches but there’s no pain. Just a sensation that serves to remind me that I am indeed making progress. I am making a difference.
The plant in the photo is chard. I ate chard today. I have window box of chard sitting on my kitchen counter because it’s too cold to be on the patio. In spite of its red stem, I think it still qualifies as a green vegetable, no?
I’m off for a run. Will update later with a video and some more substantial thoughts.
Day 1 of the Double Crunch Primal Stride Challenge has me sitting straight up in my chair with spinach in my stomach. I’ve developed a nice little routine: Every time I get up for a glass of water or tea I do 50 crunches. It’s 10am, I’ve been up for 5.5hrs, and I’ve met my challenge goal of 250crunches/day already. Yes!
Now, about you. Yes, YOU! Have you signed up for this hot and bothered week of joy otherwise known as the Double Crunch Challenge?
If you’ve not yet joined but you’d like to, let me know in the comments and I’ll add your blessed name
Alright, Striders! Time to check in and let us know how your first day of the challenge went. Please make a point to encourage at least one other participant with a kind word or bit of advice. A welcoming environment encourages honesty. Honesty brings trust and that trust is what allows us to feel truly connected and gather the strength to make real changes in our lives.
Shall we?
Note: If you’d like to subscribe to the RSS feed for daily challenge updates, do so here.
Just a quick note for those of you subscribing by RSS or email. I have excluded the daily challenge updates from the main RSS feed so that y’all aren’t swamped with content related to challenges you’re not participating in. Sound good?
If you would like to subscribe to the RSS feed for daily challenge updates ONLY, do so here. Wondering what that means? Read this.
As Franklin said, “early to bed, early to rise…” I’m not sure about his promises of wealth, health and wisdom, but I’m certain that falling asleep early (or at any time you wish) is a key tool for shaping a healthy lifestyle.
Here are five steps I use to fall asleep quickly and easily. The trick is remembering to use them and using them at the right time!
1. Understand your sleep position -
Most of us naturally rest in variations of three positions. The “getting ready to sleep” position (for me, this is on my back), the “sleep position” (on my stomach with arms under pillow, one knee pulled up a bit), and the “light sleep position” (on my side, how I wake up). The next time you want to fall asleep quickly, let your body know you’re serious by moving directly into your “sleep position”. I cut more than 20 minutes off the time it takes me to fall asleep just by using this method.
2. Clear your mind -
Make a conscious effort to clear your mind of any ideas or worries that will keep you from falling asleep. I keep a notebook and pen next to my bed for those stressful nights when I need to physically write things down as a way of “earmarking” my ideas and allowing myself to leave them until the next day.
3. Leverage a memory -
Most of us have at least one memory of a time when we felt wholly relaxed and secure. Once you’re in your sleep position and have pushed away the ideas that get your mind buzzing, focus on your pleasant memory and let sleep find you.
4. Accept delays -
Sometimes sleep just doesn’t come when we want it to. I know I struggle with this at times. Instead of giving up on sleep, move back into your “getting ready to sleep” position. Try reading a book that is interesting enough to follow but not so interesting to keep you reading when your eyelids start to feel heavy. Once you’re feeling sleepy, move back into your sleep position and try again.
5. Focus on rest -
If you continue to have trouble falling asleep, do some research on relaxation techniques and try out the ones that make the most sense to you. Meditation, reading, and daily exercise help me keep my sleep cycle on track but they might not work as well for you. We’re all different (thankfully) and sometimes it takes a little longer to find a personal solution.
“Sleep is the currency of high-performance living” -T. Ferriss
Do you have ever have trouble falling asleep? What’s your favorite solution? Make me sleepy! =)
Click below to visit the Double Crunch sign-up page!
Here’s a shortened link to share with your friends: http://bit.ly/doublecrunch
The Finish Line
How’d your 7-day challenge experience turn out? What surprised you, energized you, or gave you reason to stop and think? If you could go back and re-do the challenge, what would you do differently? Has the way you perceive yourself changed in some way over the past week?
My Check-In: It wasn’t as cold as I stepped into the morning darkness. That this is day 7 didn’t seem to matter at all. I’d like to see myself continue with the early rising and, most importantly, sustain the trend of daily exercise. I’m not entirely looking forward to the crunches next week. I hope you’ll join me in making them happen though!
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